Christian Dior Poison : Perfume Review and Memories

Poison: Nearly 30 years after its debut, the name still causes a chill up the spine or a frisson of fear among those whose nasal passages were assaulted by Christian Dior’s titanic fragrance.

Launched in 1985, Poison entered a world of big perfume. It was the era of flamboyant, often bombastic scents. Even in this context, Poison made an immediate name for itself. Whether this was cause for celebration or not depended on who was doing the smelling. Poison, like Giorgio Beverly Hills, had as many vocal fans as it did vehement opponents.

I remember the first time I smelled it. I had recently started wearing Obsession, Calvin Klein’s new-at-the-time Oriental that had a hair tonic note in the base. But during a holiday gathering a cousin arrived, or Poison arrived with the cousin, shrieking in like a comet to the Thanksgiving dinner table. Gone were the typical holiday aromas: chestnuts, turkey, and pumpkin pie. We were served Poison alongside roasted yams and it was all anyone could talk about; even the old aunts clucked—in appreciation.

Even today I recall an explosive white-powder tuberose sweetened by grape-y berries, with a weird herbal accent (coriander, pepper) at the top that always made me feel a bit dizzy, as if the earth were settling beneath my feet. Remember that 1985 was near the end of the big Oriental era that had begun a decade before. Poison was the exact opposite, a behemoth white floral that didn’t smell anything like a flower but more like a synthetic floral orgy, something oh-so-right for the bigness of the Eighties.

The natural menthol note that occurs in tuberose marked Poison with a toothpaste-like, minty quality. Although the berried top notes responsible for the fruit-candy accord are immediately noticeable, it is this minty, green tuberose that sails forth, buttressed by orange blossom and for all I know a bottle of grape Nehi soda (tuberose+heliotrope+black currant). It’s a courageous fragrance actually, in that it overtakes and beats down its wearer, a risky fragrance that in its original form required personal boldness and sophistication to pull off. But where did I most smell it? On teenage girls, the same ones who would buy Cacharel LouLou a couple of years later, and the same ones who would somewhat counterintuitively be able to pull Poison off most successfully.

Ads for Poison, done in tones of purples and blacks, seemed to shroud the scent in darkness and in decadence, but the truth is that Poison was anything but. It was in my estimation the cheeriest of the Big Eighties scents, certainly the brightest and most garish. It would mow down, rather than seduce, its victims, who I liked to assume were pimply and gangly high-school boys.

This may sound odd, but Poison was the wrong “color” for me. I tried it, and it didn’t work with any of my clothing, not even with a bright blue suede jacket the color of a peacock’s neck. The sandalwood, opoponax, and vetiver drydown, which I perceived as a different color than the rest, took far too long to reach and was too subtle. A trace on the skin was pleasant the next day, but who wanted to wait that long to get there?

What was this stuff in the elegant, dark purple boule? For one thing, it was a radical departure for the House of Dior, its first truly modern fragrance and a giant step away from its past as a quiet stalwart of the upper middle class. For another, it was not meant for this traditional Dior customer but for new customers who would buy into its myth of female as dangerous vamp. That it reached an unlikely conclusion of soda and powder was beside the point. It was enough just to have its name on your lips: “Poison.” The name was daring and intriguing, what more did you need?

I tried Poison again recently and it seemed thinned-out, less complex, with the herbal notes gone, more white musk, and the base not as craggy. It had been domesticated and made less expensive (at the time, Poison was quite costly to make) and it just smelled cheap.

I washed it off my hand and dug out a picture taken on the day I first smelled it—was it really that long ago? And then I wondered, what since then would have the same shock factor? What do you think?

84 Comments

yankiel: Thank you for your posts and your blog always, you are such a sensitive and tasteful individual, thank you for keeping Perfume alive by sharing with us your personal impressions and memories. Thank you November 5, 2012 at 9:17amReply

Suzanna: yankiel, I feel confident speaking on behalf of Victoria as well as myself in saying thank you! November 5, 2012 at 9:39amReply

Anna Minis: In 1985, I fell in love with Poison, and wore it almost exclusively, alternated with Rochas’ Lumière. On my skin it was (and still is) a sweet tuberose balsam. But it can be oppressive, I agree. The same thing with Angel: on some skins it is balsamic, on others it is shrieky. And Poison is certainly not what you want at your dinner table! I think both perfumes ask for a moderate applying. November 5, 2012 at 9:19amReply

Suzanna: Of course! Moderation is always key with the big show-off frags! November 5, 2012 at 9:39amReply

rosarita: This was the scent that made me realize that tuberose hates me but I didn’t know what that note was for years. I only knew, trying it on at the cosmetics counter, that it smelled awful to me, that grape koolade thing being the worst. I’ve never been a fan but I remember smelling it in clubs in the 80s on the hot, sweaty dance floor. Loved that purple bottle. Now that I think about it, Hypnotic Poison was a scent I would try every time I passed it in the late 90s and couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it, finally buying a bottle. When I wear it now, my daughter says it reminds her of going to the mall as a teen. November 5, 2012 at 9:27amReply

Suzanna: Rosarita, HP is my favorite of the Poison flankers. I, too, deliberated over buying it, and when I did I wore it through several bottles. Then I stopped–I’d become anosmic to it–only to pick it up again a few years later. At that time, it was huge, and imagine that at one point I’d not been able to smell it at all! Still have that particular bottle. I used to like the body lotion that went with it, too. November 5, 2012 at 9:43amReply

Leah: Thanks Suzanna for such a timely post! I was a teenager in the 1980s with a fairly young mother, so Poison was a scent we shared. My motherhad worn most of the big 80s orientals so this was a departure for her, yet it did have the larger than life sillage of others like Coco and Opium. I loved it because it felt sophisticated and provocative, and the advertisements had that sort of Siouxsie and the Banshees vibe. I recently sought it out to re-sniff and was appalled by the current state of reformulation. So, I found a vintage bottle on Ebay a couple of weeks ago for a great price and confirmed that it is still a magical fragrance. Thanks for starting out my day with a great memory. November 5, 2012 at 9:31amReply

Suzanna: Leah, I think this one really suffered with reformulation, and I don’t think Dior does a particularly good job at reformulation in general (Miss Dior Cherie also springs to mind). Glad you found some vintage! November 5, 2012 at 9:45amReply

Stacy: After buying a bottle of poison about 2004, noticing it smelled nothing like the one I wore (very little of) back from 80’s-90’s! To discover they’d changed the formula!! It was by far my favorite scent to wear!! Has totally upset me to not be able to find it again! Just a little spritz was all one needed!! Loved when I opened my closet to get that lovely, sexy scent!! It’s a no can do on new formulation!! I started dating my husband back when it was great!! He always remarked how he loved my smell!! (To later admit my scent is what attracted him to me strong, strong enough to marry me!) since running out of my old bottle, I have never heard him compliment my smell again!! And that saddens me more than anything!! I’ve been looking now for many years to find anything that is remotely close, to no eval! Please help me!!! Or convince Dior to bring back the original!!! It was my signature scent, and feel like I’ve lost a part of my soul!!! HELP!!! December 18, 2016 at 12:26pmReply

Dee: Ebay…you can still find vintage there! November 4, 2017 at 11:18amReply

Blue: This is my first comment here. I just had to say that I am very disappointed in the new Poison; it is watered down and feels like a fake compared to its real dark yet bright, heady, rich former self. My mother would wear this all the time and even let me (a boy) wear it to school as well as other occasions along with Lou Lou.

I was very lucky when I found the vintage in a tall glass bottle earlier this year, I bought it, as well as its younger sister Tendre Poison that was sitting by its side, I was very excited. I don’t want to use them; it feels too precious and will only spray them once in a while, as they remind me of better times and I feel I may taint that feeling if I wear it now.

I can honestly say Poison along with Lou Lou changed my life along with an Arab attar which I will never find because I don’t know its name. November 5, 2012 at 9:38amReply

Suzanna: Thank you for sharing this memory, blue! It’s memories like this that add so much to the appreciation of fragrance.

Too bad you can’t recall the name of that attar, but I love that you had Poison and Lou Lou along with it. November 5, 2012 at 11:50amReply

Dee: Poison and Lou Lou were my teen scents as well! This year I hunted down vintage bottles of them…one, they still smell great and two, dang we had good taste for young ones! November 4, 2017 at 11:22amReply

Leah: One addition to your question – as far as what other perfumes would have the same shock factor, I would have to say Mugler’s Angel and Lutens’s Tuberose Criminelle. All of these fragrances make me feel almost guilty when I wear something straightforward! November 5, 2012 at 9:38amReply

Suzanna: Oh, Leah, I have to laugh about TC. I had just applied it and was in the market. TC was in that huge mentholated phase–well, a woman went by and wriggled her nose and glared at me, as if I reeked of Ben-Gay or other common unguent and it was displeasing. November 5, 2012 at 9:40amReply

Leah: LOL, the opening is my favorite part! November 5, 2012 at 9:50amReply

Suzanna: Me, too! But I had never thought about what someone else might think. November 5, 2012 at 10:00amReply

Ann-Sofie: I can’t remember if I ever smelled the original Poison, but I had a bottle of Pure Poison (the white one) for many years. In the end I threw it away (this was before my perfume interest, today I grit my teeth on my stupidity – to even contemplate to throw away a perfume, gah!). Anyway, I had the similar feeling as you with my Pure Poison – it always felt wrong on me, like dressing up in someone elses clothes. And the sillage and staying power – mon dieu! Atomic fuel.

PS In those days I hade no commonsense at all – I sprayed me liberally with Pure Poison everyday and went to work, probably leaving a trail of asthmatic suffering after me….. November 5, 2012 at 9:39amReply

Suzanna: Ann-Sofie, perfumes were applied with abandon. You weren’t the lone “offender”! And yet, it didn’t seem out of place at all to smell a strong fragrance, whereas nowadays it does. November 5, 2012 at 9:41amReply

Diana: I threw away bottles from the first release of Samsara (with the now rare sandalwood) and the Salvatore Dali lips perfume just because I “got tired of wearing them”. I also discarded some vintage Chanel No. 5 (along with other scents I don’t recall) from my grandmother’s dressing table when she passed because they were “too old-lady smelling” to keep. All of this occurred years ago, before I developed more than a passing interest in perfume. If I only knew then what I know now… November 5, 2012 at 8:54pmReply

Ann-Sofie: Oh, Samsara 1st edition (!!!) and vintage no 5…in the trash…that would be hard to overcome. November 6, 2012 at 3:56amReply

Ksenija: OMG! I just came back home and I couldn’t belive when I open my email and saw this post! On my way home, I stop by Douglas to try out some perfumes. And I stopped before Poison. I remember how I loved this perfume in the nineties. I thought, let’s get back some of the nice memories. So I sprayed it on my hand. What a disappointment! It smelled nothing like I remember it! Some strange top note came through and it didn’t smell like Poison at all. Well, at least, not as Poison I remember from 1994-5. After about half an hour, I could trace some of that voluptuousness seductive warmth of the original, but alas, the true magic was already long gone. November 5, 2012 at 9:46amReply

Suzanna: That’s exactly how I felt! I was mystified by it, but, like Dior Cherie, there’s a bit of association somewhere in there that one must hunt for. Too bad. November 5, 2012 at 10:01amReply

iodine: Oh, how I hated it! There was this cousin of mine, very shy, very meek who used to wear it- she always displayed a significant hiatus between her perfumes and her personality!- and I couldn’t stand it! I guess it was prominently the berries note… To tell you the truth I can’t recall what it smells like, can’t remember the tuberose or anything else- I should try it again, but I know that when I come across a fragrance with even a vague resemblance with it I run screaming at the poisonous effect!!! (it happened with a Kurkdjan fragrance, lately, APOM, maybe… Can it be?!) November 5, 2012 at 9:48amReply

Suzanna: Who knows? Interesting! I agree, though, that Poison was de trop if you couldn’t stand the smell of it. Thinking back, I can now “smell” Giorgio and Poison together, the way it was when they battled it out for supremacy between friends. November 5, 2012 at 10:02amReply

Roberta: Hi Suzanna,
Thank you for the wonderful review. There is nothing better than Poison to cheer me up during this difficult time after Hurricane Sandy.
I got a bottle of vintage Poison a few weeks ago and that is what I have been wearing for the past weeks. I love it so much!! It reminds me of my mom, of my 80’s childhood, of Christmas with family! The scent is actually very comforting for me and I love to wear it around the house on gloomy, rainy afternoons.
Oh, and I have 2 words to describe the new Poison: it sucks. Before I got my vintage bottle (which is Esprit de Parfum, by the way) I smelled the new Poison in a department store and almost threw up. It was so NOT what I remembered… I am glad I got my vintage bottle. November 5, 2012 at 10:19amReply

Suzanna: Roberta, first of all I wish you a speedy recovery from the hurricane.

Secondly, am glad you have found the vintage Poison and are wearing it. The new is just not the same and not worth buying, IMO. November 5, 2012 at 11:18amReply

Anna Minis: That reformulation mut be horrible! What a crime, Dior should be punished for it. When did this happen? My most recent bottle (7 or 5 years ago) smells good. November 5, 2012 at 10:31amReply

Suzanna: Not sure! Perhaps someone will be able to shed some light on it. The good thing is that it is fairly easy to buy the “old” scent, since it retained its character until somewhat recently. November 5, 2012 at 11:18amReply

Daisy: I loved reading this post! The thought of Poison overwhelming a Thanksgiving dinner and then kicking butt and taking names? Priceless!

It also made me a little wistful to read about smelling it again after time had passed. Even if its current formulation is a thinned-out version of its former self, I can’t help but think there is something kind of romantic about that? Like that Barbara Streisand song about misty, water-colored memories?

(but there is still some fist-shaking at tamed-down reformulations) November 5, 2012 at 10:35amReply

Suzanna: Good point, Daisy! But still, if you are able to do side-by-side comparisons, it is a travesty. Not sure why things are thinned out; I do understand materials regulations, costs, and availability, but watering down is odd, and sometimes the scent is not recognizable and should be appended with a warning or a new name. November 5, 2012 at 11:20amReply

Patt: I still adore vintage Coco, but Coco Noir is another story! November 5, 2012 at 11:50amReply

Suzanna: Patt, I have some Coco Noir and to my surprise am wearing it happily. No, it doesn’t fit with the rest of my Chanels (the statelier ones), but it is quiet enough that I can wear it without provoking remark. November 5, 2012 at 11:52amReply

Euphrosyne: I was and still am a fan of Poison (of course the vintage IS better, but this is the case with most perfumes). I have learned the hard way, however, that this is a 1 spritz beauty, never for the office and it’s usually better in cooler weather (though I have been know to do 1/2 a spritz in the summer when I’m in the mood).

This is a scent (in it’s original incarnation) that could never be a mainstream release today – Serge Lutens perhaps, but the current house of Dior, alas never. Fewer and fewer ‘adult’ mainstream releases, which means I’m regulated to wearing classics and niche. Thanks for another wonderful piece of writing… November 5, 2012 at 3:44pmReply

Suzanna: You are welcome, Euphrosyne, and I am glad you enjoyed this post!

I agree that Poison could never be a mainstream release today (mass market). And Obsession wouldn’t be either, and Dune, and so on.

ralu: Poison hasn’t made an impression on me. I tried it but cannot recall it. I am a fan of Pure Poison and like it for the office. In general I am big on white florals and tuberose is my favorite note ( I have CF, NdT and TC) so I will give Poison another try. 🙂
Great review! 🙂 November 5, 2012 at 4:17pmReply

Suzanna: Give it a try, ralu, and try the vintage also if you can. It was a trailblazer. November 5, 2012 at 8:09pmReply

Lynn Morgan: “Poison” was aptly named. It has always reminded me of some cheap, ghastly, sub-“Two-Buck Chuck” wine like Manischevitz (sp?) or something made of spoiled grapes. I like big perfumes, but not this one! November 5, 2012 at 4:28pmReply

Suzanna: Ha, ha! “Two-buck Chuck” wine. Yes, I can see that. You know what was worse? The dupes of it. Horrendous swill! November 5, 2012 at 8:10pmReply

Austenfan: I never wore this back in the day. I did start wearing perfume in the eighties, Anaïs Anaïs first and Paris second. I do remember trying it repeatedly and not really liking the opening, but enjoying the drydown. Never enough to want to purchase it however. I have a small bottle of esprit de parfum which I sniff occasionally.
I can never smell it now without thinking of Abrahams tanks though, but that is due to Luca Turin’s hilarious review of it in the Guide. November 5, 2012 at 4:46pmReply

Leonie: I just remember the time when entire Moscow underground smelled like Poison, when even the ventilation vents at the entrance breathed hot air scented with Poison, or so it seemed like! It was equally wonderful and exasperating, and I loved it. There is truly nothing like this perfume to evoke memories of youth and first parties, and really really I don’t think there was a ground breaking and joyful perfume like this one since. November 5, 2012 at 4:48pmReply

You may be right about the end of groundbreaking perfumes. November 5, 2012 at 8:11pmReply

Cyndi: I agree that it’s been “watered down” since the 80s. Can’t think of another fragrance with such polarizing qualities, with the exception of Angel.

However, Hypnotic Poison is rather nice – especially this time of year – but it has the “toothpaste-y” quality. But on certain days, it feels quite right. November 5, 2012 at 6:16pmReply

Suzanna: Yes, HP does have a vague toothpaste quality. I still like it. Think will wear it soon. November 5, 2012 at 8:12pmReply

Moi: You and I must be similar in age, because many of your trips down perfume memory lane mirror mine. My best friend wore poison for years, which meant it was off limits for me, but I remember loving it on her, especially since she was so no-fuss in all other matters of fashion. I recently spotted a couple vintage minis at an antique store. I should go back and snag them. It caused such a stir when it first came out and the fact that mention of it can still raise such strong responses is testament to its greatness, even if so many of us would no longer think of wearing it. November 5, 2012 at 8:18pmReply

Suzanna: Moi, we prob. are the same age. I remember that stir so well. That doesn’t happen nowadays, does it? November 6, 2012 at 9:48amReply

Diana: My only experience of wearing Poison was from a small sample bottle I used during a vacation in Jamaica. The perfume had recently been released. To this day, I think of that wonderful island get-away whenever I smell the juice. November 5, 2012 at 8:57pmReply

Suzanna: What a great memory, Diana, and it reminds me of how perfume is a memory device, better than most. November 6, 2012 at 9:49amReply

annemariec: So many people have a Poison story! Mine is that in 1988 I worked with a young woman who wore it. I vividly remember thinking to myself that a perfume named ‘Poison’ could not have found a more appropriate home than with her. Me, I was a prudish little thing wearing White Linen. I remember how shocked I was to hear her describing to a room full of people how she had lost her virginity in an upstairs flat near where we worked. I now realise that she was probably attempting to escape from a privileged but dull upbringing, testing out herself on the world to see where she might fit. As for Poison, I still don’t wear it but I can appreciate what a fine bit of work it is (or was). I did learn, I hope, to be more careful in my judgments, both of people and perfume! November 5, 2012 at 9:18pmReply

Suzanna: Thanks for sharing that, annemariec. That’s an amazing link between perfume and personal growth and I think many of us can relate.

I wore White Linen also, a bit earlier than that, though. Your mention of it relative to Poison is fascinating! November 6, 2012 at 9:52amReply

Rednails: I have an oz. bottle of vintage Poison EDT, and I don’t know how young girls wore it. It is beyond vampy, chock full of civet, perfect for 50+, red-taloned me. It’s like an amalgam of Coca-Cola syrup and the strangest flower you ever saw, some carnivorous plant from The Little Shop of Horrors. I love it, but mainstream? Weird. November 5, 2012 at 9:52pmReply

Suzanna: Rednails, I think we all wore enormous perfumes in that era, regardless of whether it was appropriate for the age or not. I always enjoyed that part of perfume appreciation most! November 6, 2012 at 9:47amReply

Stacy: amyone want to sell their older ones?? I totally love it still after 30 yrs!!! It’s a 1/2 a spritz type perfume though!! More gags you. Id recently ran out of my about 10 yr old bottle. Got another and was oh my gosh this isn’t the same at all!! Too much alcohol and not the oriental/sweet mixture that was so captivating. I have wondered since if they’d changed it. So glad to come across this blog!!! This should be forwarded to Dior, no wonder the sales have gone down so much only available on net through one store here!! At first I thought I’d gotten a knock off. This is a high end store. Supposedly, called and they said no it’s direct from Dior!!! Well I cant and wont buy the new scent. Wish they had small sample bottles like we used to get in 80’s of perfume. Would love to smell the pure and hypnotic poisons! I used to not tell ppl when asked what I was wearing!! Lol after I got married and a few years my husband admitted that my smell he was addicted to and was one of the biggest reasons he couldn’t keep his paws off lol!! Men would be walking behind me for me to notice felt followed. They’d finally get the courage to ask and could read all over them they liked it just a bit too much!! Lol. Too bad it took me so many years to realize this!! Lol. Oh well still landed me a good man!! It was cute!! What a cult following Dior could have if went back to original. I loved how opening my closet door could get a whiff of it still on clothes from weeks past!! New version no staying power which takes away from the wonderful layers of smell. Invokes calm, sensual, happy feelings for me!! Other perfumes gave me bad headaches. Not poison if just a tad on is all it took!! So my big question is:::; what other perfume does everyone think is closest they’ve smelled to original poison recently?? I keep looking now for years and nothing I’ve found is even close!!! Heard the comment above on Lucent. Any one else Plz?? Love your blog!! January 15, 2015 at 2:32pmReply

Annikky: What a lovely post, Suzanna. I especially liked the point about teenagers pulling off Poison the best. There is much complaining about young girls and the omnipresence of sweet fruity florals these days, and not without cause. But IF they decide to go for something bold, I find the result can be really great (this is of course true not only for perfume, but fashion and other things as well). Probably because at that age people tend to be very intense and uncompromising and also not that worried about offending others. So striking statements can come naturally.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a “real-time” experience with Poison, I was too young when it came out and I doubt it woud have been easily attainable here (Soviet-era Estonia) anyway. I have smelled the current version several times, but it has not made a lasting impression – must try to get my hands on some vintage stuff, I have a hunch I would like it. November 6, 2012 at 4:16amReply

Suzanna: Annikky, the current version wouldn’t have made any impression on me, either. Good point about things not being available in the Soviet era. I haven’t considered that when I discuss my own experiences, but now I will. November 6, 2012 at 9:45amReply

Noah: What made the original formula so expensive? November 6, 2012 at 12:28pmReply

Suzanna: That’s a question probably better answered by Victoria, who would have much better insight than I. V.? November 6, 2012 at 2:09pmReply

Victoria: It wasn’t as pricey as Chanel No 5 or Jean Patou Joy, but it had some rich natural materials–rose, jasmine, tuberose. November 6, 2012 at 3:13pmReply

Does anyone remember the scene from the movie The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, in which Rebecca de Mornay wears Poison to seduce the husband of the woman she holds responsible for her miscarriage? November 6, 2012 at 4:50pmReply

Daisy: I remember that movie! Rebecca de Mornay does a great crazy woman. November 6, 2012 at 4:52pmReply

Astrid: I have disliked this fragrance from Day 1. Grape juice…nasty Welsches grape juice is all I smell. Why would I want to smell like a 5-yo’s snack…? November 6, 2012 at 5:32pmReply

Suzanna: Isn’t it interesting how perceptions differ? Thanks for adding to the discussion, Astrid. November 6, 2012 at 11:46pmReply

Wendy: I also dislike poison but it doesn’t smell like grape juice to me, it is just so sweet and strong it makes me feel sick smelling it. I find it hard to believe it’s an oriental fragrance. June 12, 2013 at 5:24amReply

Tori: I LOVE this perfume. I associate it with warmth and excitement and love because my mom wore this perfume throughout my childhood. Admittedly, it’s not for everyone; my mother has a very strong personality so while this perfume is very strong and can be overpowering, it smells just right when emanating from her. No doubt her skin chemistry has something to do with it as well. On her, this dark floral scent (this scent will always be envisioned as a dark purple hue in my mind) intensifies and develops into a nicely balanced bouquet with just enough spice.

But I dislike it intensely on myself. My skin chemistry pulls all the wrong notes out, making it smell like moth balls, synthetic, ugly and cloying. I much prefer lighter, sweeter scents with a brighter “feel” to them, like Annick Goutal’s Petite Cherie, Gendarme’s Carriere (though I may get stoned by perfume snobs for mentioning this scent) or SL’s Un Bois Vanille. My version of Poison’s strong floral would be Malle’s Carnal Flower. But Poison will always have a special place in my heart and I sometimes open my mom’s bottle just for a sniff and it takes me back to happy times. She’s taken to using Pure Poison now, and I have no idea whether it’s changed from the original. You see, a 5 year old’s sense of smell is usually not that sophisticated. 😉 January 8, 2013 at 1:40pmReply

Suzanna: What a great story, Tori, and thanks for taking the time to write it. Indeed, the differences in how we sense perfume are great. I’ve always been able to wear Fracas when my friends have not, and others wear leathers that smelled too tannic and meaty on me.

I bet you had a sophisticated nose, for a five year old! January 8, 2013 at 4:46pmReply

Alicia: I have never been an enthusiast of Dior perfumes, except one: Dune. Otherwise J’adore leaves me cold,I find Diorisssimo a touch too indolic, Poison is interesting, but not something I would wear often. Miss Dior is less than a shadow of itself. But I love Dune. Otherwise I stick to my Guerlains and Chanels, with a few detours into Caron (Narcisse Noir, Farnesiana), and YSL: beloved Rive Gauche, and in case I miss a big 80s fragrance, then Opium. April 6, 2013 at 8:41amReply

Danaki: My mom dabbed Chanel No.5 and Shalimar on occasions, and bought me Anais Anais when I turned 11. When she smelt Poison on a work colleague, she actually fainted.

I never wear anything that has tuberose or orange blossom when I’m with her. July 4, 2014 at 10:10amReply

Jojo: Loved the original scent of Poison. It has undergone changes over the years and unfortunately is nothing like it was in the 80’s and 90’s. The closest fragrance that I can find on the market today is “Baby Phat Seductive Goddess”. This stuff is the bomb if you want a seductive fragrance for a lucky night on the town. August 7, 2014 at 3:04pmReply

Bogdan Zyryanov: I think Tom Ford Black Orchid may be ‘the new Poison.’ August 1, 2015 at 7:00pmReply

Melia: I just love Poison. It is my signature scent to which I sometimes add rose. I have always noticed the note of violet in addition to the grape and blackberries. Poison is still available in its original formula at higher cost. I just opened a new box. Now the scent is vintage as I guess am I , lol. I started wearing it at age 16 and never stopped. I have never met another person who wears Poison. Lots of people have asked about my perfume over the years and are always surprised to hear its name.Thank you for writing about this lovely perfume. February 12, 2016 at 1:44amReply

Victoria: A perfume legend for sure! February 12, 2016 at 11:57amReply

Sara Haile: Where can I get the original formula? I don’t care about price. February 1, 2017 at 7:31pmReply

Elizabeth: Vintage Poison was a different perfume than the reformulation, to be sure. And the key to wearing it well was moderation in application (I eschew the spray top immediately with any perfume, and use a light touch with a stopper) and your personal body chemistry.

Countless times I was stopped and asked what I was wearing. NO ONE ever believed it was Poison, until they saw me apply it. By contrast, any perfume that contains ylang-ylang immediately smells like hospital soap on me.

A beautiful website, by the by. I am looking for a new perfume, and enjoying the search through your pages tremendously. November 3, 2016 at 7:10pmReply

Victoria: Thank you very much, Elizabeth. November 6, 2016 at 6:43amReply

Farah: I just got a tiny mini bottle from EBay. It’s about 1/3 full, but should last years. One mere drop is potent as plutonium. The seller thinks it’s from the eighties, and though I was only 13 when I smelled it first in 1987, I believe he’s right. The remaining liquid is a thick, sticky brown, and smells exactly as I remember-camphor, something floral, and purple. February 2, 2017 at 5:14pmReply

Carolina: This was the first adult perfume I used. It was my mother’s, and she let me spray a couple of spritzes before going out in my first adolescent disco nights…
I remember I loved it and alll my friends did as well, but in our ignorance we called it “poisson”, like fish in french LOL
Last year I tried the new version in the store and almost cried of sadness, now it’s just grape koolaid, not a trace of that complex loveliness.
Oh the memories! June 7, 2018 at 7:52pmReply

Maria: I love this fragrance no matter what time of year it is. I’m not one to try lots of different fragrances because many of them either give me enormous headaches or cause allergy problems but Hypnotic Poison definitely suits me.
It’s a great scent. 😌 October 23, 2018 at 6:24amReply

Kate: Thanks for the mention and your site looks great!! This is a great explanation you are so thorough….much appreciated! November 22, 2018 at 12:00pmReply

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